


Curry Days, Curry Dreams

by FreeTheSoul



Category: Tales of Graces
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-09 10:42:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5536913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreeTheSoul/pseuds/FreeTheSoul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The best time to reminisce is over a steaming hot cup of mabo curry, or at least apparently.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Curry Days, Curry Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> Written for lyriumpop on Tumblr!
> 
> Aaah, happy holidays!! I hope you enjoy this, it was fun going back to Graces!

   Richard’s legs swung over the stone ledge, cold air drafting up from the ocean far below. The tides were calm - ominously dark in the winter weather, but calm - and the purples and blues of dusk glimmered on the still water.

   It was freezing out, and the light snowfall only made things worse, but Asbel beside him was a beacon of warmth. Richard shifted a little closer to him, knocking their shoulders together and trying not to shiver.

   “You cold, Richard?”

   Asbel smiled at him, his huff of laughter dissipating slowly in the air. Richard pouted, but still shuffled further into his arm.

   “Listen, just because you’re always this warm doesn’t mean we all are. How do you _make_ it through the summers?”

   Asbel shrugged, prompting a sigh from his partner. “Here, I’ve got an idea. Wait here a second, alright?”

   He’d already hopped up before Richard’s “Hey--” could make it any further, leaving him alone on the ledge. Drawing himself in against the cold, he huddled in his coat and waited for Asbel’s return.

   The snow had begun to pile up on the spot where Asbel had been sitting - and Richard had gotten more than a little worried - when he finally returned. He ruffled the snow out of Richard’s hair, shocking him and making him jump. Quickly, he spun around, but his face relaxed when he saw who it was.

   “Ah-- Oh, it’s just you. Don’t _scare_ me like that! Also,” he paused, “what’s… that in your hand?”

   Indeed, that was a good question. Asbel held two steaming cups in one of his hands, and he proffered one to Richard. He took it carefully, trying his best to absorb its warmth through his fingers as he stared down into a murk of reddish-brown.

   “Mabo curry,” Asbel proclaimed, dusting off the ledge and returning to his old seat beside Richard. “Perfect for winter, am I right?”

   Richard hummed in acknowledgement, tearing his eyes away from the white blobs that looked more like alien lifeforms than tofu. He stared at Asbel for a few moments before he noticed he was being watched, stopping mid-blow and turning to return the look.

   Asbel scratched his cheek nervously, “Uh? What’s up? Do I have something on my face?”

   Smiling to himself, Richard turned his gaze to the sea. “No, not that… Asbel, do you remember when we were kids?”

   “Yeah, ‘course I do. What’s up?” Still staring, Asbel lowered his cup down closer to his lap.

   Richard looked back, smile still there on his face. “...So you remember the first time we had it, don’t you?”

 

\---

 

   “Hey! Rich-- er, Tiger Festival! Have you ever eaten _here?”_

   Asbel’s voice was clear in the crowded streets, much to Richard’s dismay. If he slipped up - which he wouldn’t have been surprised by, honestly - then he’d probably end up alerting half the country of his whereabouts.

   Quietly, Richard weaved his way through the bodies that were making the hot weather even more unbearable. He made a firm grab for Asbel’s hand once he’d reached him, ignoring the fact that both of their palms were sweaty and gross. Hubert and Cheria had gone and taken Sophie to see something that had caught her eye, and he and Asbel had been following them until he got distracted.

   “Not so loud, Asbel…! You’re shouting,” he whimpered.

   “Uh?” Asbel stared at him, “Oh. Sorry! Anyways, T… Tiger Festival, have you?”

   He was pointing at a food stall, the vendor selling something apparently called “Mabo Curry” with an almost contagious enthusiasm. Richard blinked as he stared and immediately broke away when he realized he’d attracted the gaze of the street vendor, but it was too late.

   “Heya, kids! You two look hungry, you wanna try some of my curry?”

   Richard shrank back into Asbel’s side, trying to hide from the woman. Unfortunately, the saleswoman wasn’t about to let a potential customer go, and Richard was even _less_ fortunate that Asbel seemed all for it, too.

   “Yes! Yes please!” came the cheery cry, and suddenly Richard was being pulled through the sweaty crowd. He jolted to a stop face-to-face with the stall, waves of heat flowing from it. The woman in it was jovial, and for once Richard found that the quality didn’t make him nervous.

   “Good t’ hear it! Aww, aren’t you two small. Where’s yer parents?” She smiled wide, bending over the stall to get a bit closer to them.

   This question seemed to stop Asbel in his excited tracks, and Richard swooped in quickly. “U-um, well, they’re… at... a bar. They said we could wander around and look at stuff while they, um…”

   She nodded, and Richard nearly shivered in relief while Asbel was busy staring at him with awe covering his face. “I see, I see. Well, ain’t that a shame. They’ll be jealous they missed out on something like this, won’t they, huns?”

   Richard shook his head, “W-we, um, they didn’t give us any money to…”

   “That’s alright, dear. I’ll give you two boys a cup, on the house, alright? Brothers like you are alright with sharing, ain’tcha?” She laughed, loudly, and Richard nodded stiffly.

   Asbel accepted the cup like it was the Holy Grail, his awed stare apparently having transferred to the food instead of his friend. His gasped “thank you” seemed to have been exactly what the vendor had been waiting for, and she flashed another broad smile.

   “You two kids enjoy that, alright? An’ don’t forget to tell all yer friends ‘bout the one and only mabo curry stall in Barona!”

 

\---

 

   “I’m still amazed she was selling curry - successfully, might I add - in the middle of the summer,” Richard snorted. “This stuff is still as greasy as it always was, though. Practically gave me acne when I was a kid.”

   Asbel, who’d started nodding his head in regretful agreement, suddenly turned and frowned at him. “Hey, wait, you haven’t even touched it yet! How would you know?!”

   Richard sighed, “Yes, I haven’t, because _someone_ didn’t bring anything to eat it with in the first place.”

   Faced with the slight smirk pulling at Richard’s lips, Asbel exhaled in defeat and put down his cup. “Alright, alright, that one’s my fault. But _still..._ ” they stared at each other for a long moment, “...Nah, you’re right. Doesn’t make it taste any less good, though.”

   The night air was brisk in Richard’s lungs as he laughed.  “Mmhmm, sure. Anyways, I guess I should go back and get some plastic spoons or something before I freeze to death out here.”

   “No, wait.”

   Richard stopped mid-movement, relaxing back down to his seat as he looked back up at Asbel’s face. It’d gotten oddly serious, all of a sudden, and it made him feel more than a little anxious. He couldn’t think of anything bad off the top of his head that he could bring up _now_ , of all times, but at the same time a million different nervous thoughts flitted through him.

   As suddenly as it had appeared, the look was gone and replaced with a grin. “I know what’d warm us up better than that. C’mere, bend in a little…”

   Richard complied, relaxed now that he’d realized he’d been jumping to silly conclusions. Curiously, he watched Asbel’s face - it was awfully close, after all, and there wasn’t much _else_ to look at. Not that Richard could say he minded _that_ very much, either. The snowflakes that had settled on his eyelashes only further accented how handsome he was, and Richard couldn’t help but think it was a little unfair that even Mother Nature was working against him.

   Following him, Asbel bent in too, so close they could feel each other’s breath, so close their lips could almost touch, so close that they did.

   Richard’s note of surprise was slight and muffled, and it didn’t take very long for him to relax into it. It was nothing deep, but all the same neither of them seemed particularly inclined to pulling back. There was a hand on Richard’s cheek, running fingers through the hair by his ear, making him shiver at its touch. He bent in closer to him, satisfied at the gasp in the moment between when he broke off and when he reconnected, running a hand around Asbel’s side.

   They only parted when Asbel knocked into something behind him and made a small cry of surprise, Richard immediately reeling back. He tried his best to hide the way he panted, heart strumming in his chest and his entire body hot. Asbel had been right - it really was a good way to warm up.

   His eyes traveled to find what it was that they’d bumped into - he prayed it hadn’t been a person - and followed Asbel’s gaze downwards. Oh, god. Had they knocked someone into the _ocean?_

   No, fortunately enough. The only thing he saw down there was a small white speck against the black water, which floated out with the lazy tides.

   “My food,” Asbel whined.

   Richard stared at him for a long second, and then started snickering.

   “H-hey! Richard! Don’t laugh!” Asbel was indignant in his reply, and Richard couldn’t tell if he was red in the face because he was still flushed or because he was embarrassed. Either way, he was still laughing at him.

   “Jeez, and we were doing that out here in the streets… What about a citizen just walking by and finding out about their king’s secret love life? My, we’re quite the risk-takers,” he snorted, a cloud of mist following his laugh.

   Asbel frowned and mumbled to his feet, “Yeah, well, their king didn’t seem very willing to let go, either…”

   “Touché. Anyways, I owe you a cup of… mabo curry, don’t I? I’ll be right back,” Richard had already started to get up when he realized something warm had grabbed a firm hold of his arm and was holding him back from doing just that.

   “Yeah, nuh-uh. Sure, it’s dark outside and you’re wearing a big coat and all, but you’ll give that poor vender a heart attack if he sees you asking for a cup of curry. I’ll go, you wait here.” Asbel had also started standing up, and his grip on Richard relaxed once he’d gotten a sturdy enough footing.

   Richard huffed, “What, and let you forget the spoons again while I sit here and lose my extremities? No, thank you,” Asbel simply stood and stared at him, a ghost of a smile on his face, and he sighed. “...Fine, you buy it, but I’m still coming.”

   Leaving the sea behind, they stepped off the icy ledge together and made their way into the warmly-lit city. Shivering, Richard reached for Asbel’s hand, their fingers wrapping together easily.

   Together, they walked through the streets, holding hands and almost the same as when they’d been kids, but altogether so different.


End file.
